Witness: Man shot by police 'seemed well-behaved'

Inquest into death of wood carver continues

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, January 13, 2011

The Native American wood carver who was fatally shot by a Seattle police officer "seemed well-behaved" just before the officer opened fire, a woman who was crossing the street near the incident testified Friday.

Several witnesses have said John T. Williams wasn't threatening, and some have said they thought the officer who killed him, Ian Birk, acted more aggressively than expected. The Williams family attorney, Tim Ford, has continually brought up two points during inquest testimony: Witnesses didn't see Williams threaten or attack anyone on Aug. 30.

Birk's attorney has repeatedly noted no witness has a clear view or recollection of everything that happened.

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Nancy Bushman, who was near the intersection of Boren Avenue and Howell Street on the day of the shooting, said Williams didn't appear aggressive.

"He seemed very well-behaved and like a normal pedestrian, just walking as I was," Bushman said during the fifth day of testimony. "So I didn't hardly have any reason to look any more carefully."

Deanna Sebring, who was walking near the incident, testified on Thursday she thought Williams might be manipulating something, but didn't see aggression or other actions that would prompt the shooting. Barbara Newman, who saw the incident from her car going southbound on Howell Street, testified Thursday that Seattle Police officer Ian Birk raised his gun before Williams turned, and said she didn't witness aggressive behavior.

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Newman also said she never saw Williams turn to face Birk and never saw him take a step toward the officer. Birk testified that Williams glanced back once, then turned with an aggressive posture that he believed, based on his training, indicated an attack was imminent.

Being questioned by Birk's attorney, Ted Buck, Newman acknowledged she was moving her attention from the officer to Williams during the incident, and said it was possible she could have not seen the actions of one man while looking at the other.

Buck, attempting to question the accuracy of witness accounts, pointed out that no witnesses clearly saw a knife in Williams' hand. He also pointed out that some witnesses didn't hear Birk yell, which is audible on the footage from Birk's patrol car video.

Graphic photos from the investigation into Williams' death also were showing at the inquest Friday, prompting his brother and other support to leave the courtroom. After the inquest ended for the day about 4:15 p.m., more than 100 supporters held a prayer vigil outside the King County Courthouse. A video of that is below.

Situation escalated quickly

A march in opposition to Seattle police was also advertised to take place Monday, forming at Garfield High School during the Monday Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. The march was advertised at the prayer vigil by the October 22 Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, & the Criminalization of a Generation. The group was advertised as part of a workshop with the American Civil Liberties Union and Copwatch.

Birk said Williams didn't look confused, didn't put his hands up and didn't show any sign he would comply with the order to drop the knife. The officer told the court he didn't think Williams' initial look back was a sign of compliance, and that it would have been a stretch for Williams to place the knife on a nearby wall. He said he was left with no other reasonable alternative but defending himself.

"I utilized all the time I felt that I had," Birk said. "But the situation escalated certainly more quickly than I could have known or predicted."

Though witnesses had different accounts, some said they didn't see Williams turn back to the officer. Newman said the officer raised his gun before Williams turned.

Ford pointed out that the officer was wearing sunglasses that day. Williams' knife had a black blade with silver on part of the outer edge, and a silver-and-black handle. Ford additionally questioned why the knife was found closed on the ground when Officer Grant Leavitt, who watched the knife from the time Birk took his foot off of it to the point when other investigators relieved him, saw it.

"It did surprise me that the knife was closed, having just seen Mr. Williams holding a knife open in his hand," Birk said Wednesday. "I have no idea how that knife was closed, if that was the knife I saw initially or not."

On Monday, lead case detective Jeffrey Mudd of the Seattle Police homicide unit said a second knife fell from Williams' right jacket pocket when investigators were looking for his identification. But Mudd said that knife also was found closed.

Ford has said he believes Williams was trying to put down and close the knife, but "didn't have a chance to put it down because he was shot."

Birk, 27, said he followed his training and didn't have time to take other action with what he perceived as a deadly threat. Birk said Williams shifted his weight and had an aggressive expression that make him react based on his training.

He clarified, when questioned by his own attorney, Buck, that he was not required to tell Williams he would shoot if he didn't drop the knife.

But witness John Hartsfield, who was going south on Boren Avenue across Howell Street when Birk confronted Williams, testified Wednesday that Birk "seemed more aggressive than I was expecting."

Inquest expected to end next week

This week's inquest is not a criminal proceeding -- jurors will be asked to find whether the shooting was justified, but their finding will have no immediate impact. King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg will make a charging decision after the inquest is complete.

The inquest is expected to continue through Tuesday.

Williams' shooting was one of five officer-involved shootings in Seattle last year and one of three that were fatal. In 2009, Seattle had the same number of officer-involved shootings, ending with the fatal confrontation involving cop-killer Maurice Clemmons.